Amid the growing threat of COVID-19, Punjab Government has pressed hard to combat this global pandemic and increased the testing capacity in double fold at Government Medical College Patiala and Amritsar.Disclosing this here today, Mr. DK Tiwari, Principal Secretary, Medical Education and research said that government is combating with this threat on war footing and Additional Real-Time PCR machines have been installed at GMC Patiala & Amritsar to double the testing capacity, He said that shifts of staff to supplement testing facilities has been increased so that the results of the tests comes rapidly and the treatment process initiated immediately. He further disclosed that Bio-Safety Equipments have been shifted from IIT Ropar to GMC Patiala to further increases testing capacity.Mr. Tiwari said that Medical Education and Research Department is working 24X7 and daily status report is being taken via video conferencing from different parts of the state so that concerted efforts should be focused on concerned areas.The Principal Secretary said that Information and Consultation Desks have been set up at Medical Colleges for guiding public, apart from this Round the clock Staff facilitation counters have been put up for assisting doctors, nurses, paramedics on duty during odd hours. He said that there is no scarcity of any medical commodity and buffer stock of N95 masks, PPE kits, triple layer masks and other essentials has been provided to staff according to protocols. He divulged that trainings is being provided to staff daily for updating about the latest guidelines and findings of WHO regarding COVID-19. Daily updates on projections are being calculated by epidemiologists and accordingly supplies are being augmented.
However Punjab Medical Education & Research Minister Mr. O.P. Soni appreciated the dedication and commitment of medical staff of the state. He said that this is the true service to save mankind in this difficult time.